The basic concept of using a point of transaction terminal communicating with a host computer to automate credit verification as an alternative to manual verification via a voice telephone call goes back to the 1960s.
Goldman U.S. Pat. No. 3,394,246, entitled "Status Indicating System," discloses a credit verification system related to check cashing information using card reader to identify the person with the terminal on line to central station where information on the persons credit activity and check cashing activity is kept.
In February 1966, Jones U.K. Patent Specification 1,019,702, entitled "Apparatus for Use in Connection with the Sale of Articles" was published. This British application discloses a local sales terminal networked to central processing computer station and included a card reader at the terminal used for credit card reading and a TAG reading device relating to goods being sold. The TAG reading operation results in code sent to central unit for price look up (PLU) and central unit sends back description and price for printing on a sales receipt. The credit card reader provides customer credit data and the terminal communicates with the the central unit which has negative file storage for checking credit card data against a "blacklist" which is now typically called a "negative file."
Although the concept of credit transaction automation or credit verification using a local terminal communicating with a remote host has been around for several decades, it wasn't until the mid-1980's that a low cost credit verification terminal was developed. This type of transaction terminal is shown in Chang et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,420. This terminal promoted the widespread use of on-line credit verification by making the point of sale terminals affordable to small businesses.
The transaction terminal in eating/drinking establishments.
The Credit Card Transaction
Transaction terminals are often used in eating and drinking establishments for payment of the guest check by credit card. Referring to FIG. 1, a transaction terminal 30 is shown connected to a receipt or charge slip printer 40. This is a typical prior art transaction automation system. (Portable terminal 10 and docking station 20 are part of this invention and not part of the prior art.) Transaction terminal 30 also has a phone line connection 31 to the public switched telephone network (P.S.T.N.) for communicating with a host computer 60. Typically, this transaction terminal equipment is operated by a clerk or employee of a business establishment who receives a transaction data card (credit card or ATM card) from the customer, swipes the card through the card reader of the transaction terminal 30 and then returns the card to the customer.
Other point-of-sale transaction terminal environments use a separate terminal or PIN-Pad operated by the customer to enter a PIN code or to swipe the transaction data card and enter a PIN code if required. In the former case the card is always within sight of the customer when out of his/her possession; and, in the later case, the card never leaves the possession of the customer.
The point-of-sale transaction environment of an eating or drinking establishment is different in that the guest remains seated while the server takes the transaction data card to the transaction terminal for performing the steps of swiping the card and entering the total of the transaction. Typically, the server brings the guest check in a guest check folio to the table and leaves it. The guest puts his/her credit card in the folio to signal payment by that method. The server returns to take the folio and card to the transaction terminal, and brings back the printed charge slip for the guest to enter a tip and sign. The server then takes the signed slip back to the transaction terminal and, at some point, the amount of the tip must then be added to the amount of the guest check at the transaction terminal for completing the total credit card charge to the guest's account.
This process is time consuming and inefficient. Further the credit card is out of sight of the customer for a period of time and this is worrisome to some people, especially if they have experienced fraudulent use of their credit card in the past.
Debit (ATM) Card Transactions
Transaction terminals have increasingly been deployed to perform debit (ATM) card transactions in which the amount of the transaction is directly debited to the customer's bank account in an online transaction. Debit transactions generally require the customer to enter a PIN code on a PIN-Pad associated with the transaction terminal. Accordingly, debit card transactions are not typically offered as a payment methodby eating and drinking establishments because the customer would be required to leave the table and go to the transaction terminal site to enter the PIN.
From this discussion it is apparent that eating and drinking establishments would benefit from having the ability to perform transaction data entry, including PIN code entry, at the guest table.
The prior art offers only partial solutions to the needs of eating and drinking establishments for a comprehensive and easy to use transaction automation solution that enables both debit and credit transaction data entry at the guest table.
One potential solution would be to bring an entire portable terminal with card reader and printer to the guest table. While portable, such terminals are still heavy and large enough that a server would not be able to carry one around in a serving apron.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,054 discloses a portable device for inputting partial transaction data, including card reader and PIN entry keyboard. This device has no facility for entering the transaction total or other transaction data elements such as a gratuity.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,416 discloses a portable PIN pad which allows a customer to enter a PIN code and avoid walking over to the transaction terminal to enter this data, but the server still has to carry the card and this portable device to the transaction terminal to enter the other transaction data.